Puzzle



No. 609,083.- Patemed Aug. |6,`|89a. c. w. counTNEv.

PUZZLE.

(Application filed Feb. 28, 1898.)

(N0 Modell) YM: Nowms sums cu.. Pnommmn. wnsnmn'ron. D. c.

f i N UNITED" STATESf-PATENT oYRUs WILLIAM ooURTNEY, or DoNIrI-IAN,IDAHO, AssIeNoia To CHARLES K. IIENDELMAN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,083, dated August16, 1898. Application filed February 28,1898. Serial No. 671,999. (Nomodel.)

quiring an exercise of skill and ingenuity in the accomplishmentthereof.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel .features thereof will beplarticularly pointed out in the appended c aims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a device constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures of the drawings.

Vl designates a box or casing consisting of a block having a cavity orreceptacle bounded bya curved Wall, the curvature preferably beingcontinuous or unbroken by angles and in the construction illustratedbeing elliptical. The interior of the casing or the cavity or receptacleis preferably flat, with approximately or perfectly parallel front andrear Walls, of which the former is preferably transparent and mayconsist, as indicated in the drawings, of a sheet of glass properlyfixed at its edges in the box or casing.

Fixed to the back or bottom Wall or floor of the cavity wholly out ofcontact with the side and front walls is an elongated pocket 2, havingits longitudinal center or axis arranged approximately parallel With thefront and rear walls of the receptacle and having a reduced mouth orinlet 3 located contiguous to, although out of contact with, the sidewall of the cavity at one end or at a point .at the extremity of themajor diameter of the ellipse. A desirable pocket is formed of bottleshape, with the inlet-opening formed at the end of the neck and beingproportionately to the pocket of a size similar to that of the neck ofabottle. Arranged in the cavity or receptacle and adapted t0 bedeposited in the pocket is a movable object 4, preferably of divisiblecharacter, such as mercury.

Inasmuch as the pocket, which is closed except at the extremity of itsneck, is arranged approximately parallel with the front and rear wallsofthe cavity or receptacle, it is obvious that the object can bedeposited therein only by moving in a direction parallel with said frontand rear walls. In other words, the inlet-opening of the pocket isaccessible only in a direction parallel with the front and rear walls ofthe receptacle, and when a divisible object, such as mercury, isemployed, it is preferably of a size exceeding that of the inlet-openingof the pocket, whereby the object must beintroduced piecemeal into thepocket or .must be allowed to flow thereinto from a point contiguous toone end of the major axis of the ellipse.

In order that the difficulty of flowing the object into the neck of thereceptacle may be increased, I preferably dispose the bore of the neckof the pocket or the inlet end thereof slightly removed from the planeof the back wall of the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 2, whereby saidinlet-opening is surrounded by a circular wall or collar which is offsetat its real-most point from the plane of the back Wall of thereceptacle. Furthermore, inasmuch as the pocket ispreferablyapproximately circular in cross-section it will be4 seen that the neckof the pocket will be in contact with the back wall of the receptacle atonly one point.

Thus in practice the elongated pocket is preferably arranged coincidentwith the major diameter of the ellipse,with a terminal inlet-openin gwhich is arranged between the planes of the parallel front and rearwalls of the receptacle, and also in practice it is preferable, as aboveindicated, to employasemiiiuid divisible object, such as mercury.

This puzzle, while difficult, is possible of solution by causing theobject 'byfa quick movement of the box or casing to traverse thecontinuous curved wall ofthe receptacle from the lowest point 'offsaidwalltoa point contiguous to the inlet-opening of the pocket, saidinlet-opening being held uppermost; but it is obvious that unless theobject iscaused IOO to leave the Wall of the receptacle at a pointcontiguous to the inlet-opening of the pocket and drop upon the latterit Will continue to follovsT the Wall of the receptacle, and therebypass beyond the inlet-opening. By repeatedly causing the object to thustraverse the curved Wall of the receptacle and leave the latter at theproper point to drop upon the mouth of the pocket it may be introducedgradually into the pocket; but it will be seen that an excessivemovement of the box or casing in an eiort to cause the portion oftheobject outside of theipocket to properly traverse the Wall of thereceptacle Will be liable to dislodge the portion of the object Whichhas already been introduced into the pocket, and in this resides thedifficulty of locating the object Wholly Within the pocket.

Various changes in the form, proportion,- and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit orsacricing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, What I claim is- 1.. A game or toy havingan interiorly visible and inaccessible receptacle, an elongated pocketarranged in the receptacle With an axially-accessible neck orinlet-opening spaced from the Walls of the receptacle, and a divisibleobject, ot' larger diameter than the neck of the pocket and movablyarranged in the receptacle, for piecemeal introduction into said neck orinlet-opening of the pocket, substantially as specified.

2. A game or toy having` an interiorly-inaccessible receptacle providedwith a continuous curved side Wall and approximately partransparent, anelongated pocket arranged 4o coincident With a diameterof the curvedWall, and having a terminal inlet end spaced slightly from the plane ofone of the approximately parallel Walls, and a divisible object, oflarger diameter than the neck of the pocket and movably arranged in thereceptacle, for piecemeal introduction into said neck or inlet-openingof the pocket, substantially as specied.

3. A game or toy having a receptacle pro- .vided With an elliptical sideWall and approximately parallel front and rear Walls, an elongatedbottle-shaped pocket arranged coincident With the major diameter of theelliptical Wall,With its terminal inlet accessible parallel with andspaced from one of said approximately parallel Walls, and a divisibleobject, of a size in excess of the inlet-opening ofsaid pocket, movablymounted in the receptacle for piecemeal introduction into the pocket,substantially as specilied.

4. A game or toy having a receptacle provided With an elliptical sideWall, an elongated bottle shaped pocket arranged coincident With adiameter of the elliptical Wall, and having a terminal inlet-opening atlthe extremity of its neck accessible axially, and a movable object, ofmercury, located in the receptacle, and of larger diameter than theinlet-opening, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CYRUS WILLIAM COURTNEY.

Witnesses WILLIAM WRAY,

allel front and rear Walls,l one of Which is WILLIAM G. CURRY.

Correction in Letters Patent No. 609,083;

It is hereby certified that the name of the assignee in Letters Patent No. 609,083, granted August 16, 1898, upon the application of CyrusWilliam Courtney, of Donphan, Idaho, for an improvement in K. Hendehnan,

Puzzles, was erroneously Written and printed Charles whereas said nameShould have been Written and printed Charles K'.

Signed, counterslgned,

[SEAL] WEBSTER DAVIS,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Countersigned A. P. GREELEY,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

